Sensorineural hearing loss combined with Takayasu's arteritis.

A 49-year-old woman complained of hearing loss and diminution of left radial arterial pulsation. She had been diagnosed with sudden deafness and treated with corticosteroids. Her audibility deteriorated again after the cessation of the therapy. Angiograms showed stenosis in the bilateral carotid arteries, the left vertebral artery, the left subclavian artery, and the pulmonary arteries. She was diagnosed with Takayasu's arteritis. After steroid therapy was restarted, there were improvements in her audibility, radial arterial pulsation, and levels of inflammatory markers (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and gamma-globulin), fibrinogen, interleukin-6, and RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted).